The Only Thriller Novel I Enjoyed!
Hi friends!
Today I’m bringing to you a review for Stalking Jack The
Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco! I’m not much of a thriller reader and going into
this, I didn’t know anything about it, but we had recently studied a murder
mystery novel in literature (in school) set in Victorian England and it was The
Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde so I was quite interested to read this!
And I have to say, I’m so glad I did!
About the book.
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Pages: 326
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. (source)
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. (source)
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Historical Fiction
Thank you to Hachette Australia for providing me a review copy however this is an honest review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
My thoughts.
{ writing }
The writing at the start was a little slow at the start and
there were a few dry bits here and there but other than that, when I finally
got into it, it was so interesting and the mystery just envelops you!
Maniscalco has such an engaging voice and knew how to make the readers feel a
part of the mystery too, which not many authors can manage!
At times, the writing was a bit gruesome but after a while I
got used to it so I didn’t mind it as much! I also love how the writing was
offset with the photographs used throughout the story and it was so cleverly
done!
{ idea + plot }
This story is based on an infamous murderer in Victorian
England, Jack The Ripper, famous for literally ripping his victims open. The case
remains unsolved to this date but Maniscalco decided to write her own ending
with this novel!
I thought the Jack The Ripper retelling was super unique and
smart! The Victorian London setting was so well captured and it felt extremely
authentic! The author was able to seamlessly combine historical facts from
Victorian England along with her own take on the mystery That, combined with the
murder mystery elements made for a fantastic and engaging storyline!
I can’t say too much about the plot because spoilers but it
was quite hard to guess who the killer may be! I had a few theories throughout
the novel but it was very difficult to pinpoint it onto someone! Towards the
end, I was able to guess who it was but I wasn’t too upset because it was
pretty obvious by then!
{ characters }
I adored the characters! Audrey Rose was such an awesome
protagonist because she was girly but at the same time, smart, outgoing and
could hold her own. I liked how she didn’t sway one way or the other – she wasn’t
either super girly or super tomboy-ish, because it made for a more realistic
and enjoyable character!
Thomas was so mysterious and swoon worthy and the moment he
appeared on the page, I was all for him! I loved the slow burn romance created
between the two characters as it made for an incredibly engaging story and one
that had me shipping them oh so hard!
{ overall }
I really enjoyed this
story! It was engaging with an interesting plot and vivid writing! The characters
were well developed and the idea and setting were incredibly unique! I highly
recommend you read this if you enjoy thriller/mystery novels!
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★
Have you read Stalking Jack The Ripper? What do you think? And do you enjoy thriller novels?
16 happy thoughts
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm really excited to read it, I always love a good story about Jack the Ripper, and I've read nothing but glowing reviews for this book. Greak review!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tasya! <3
DeleteThis sound so interesting!I love Jack the Ripper re-tellings - so many theories! I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for this one :)
ReplyDeleteMichelle @ The Unfinished Bookshelf
Hope you enjoy it whenever you get to read it Michelle!
DeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed the characters! Personally, I'm more interested in the who than the what, so this sounds like it's right up my alley. Having said that though, I am a pretty big fan of thrillers so it might have been perfect for me anyway! Definitely sounds like something I would enjoy. Thank you for your review!
ReplyDeleteFleur @ Fleur Henley
No problem, glad you enjoyed!
DeleteGreat review Anisha! So glad you enjoyed it, I have high hopes for it now since you liked it a lot! I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThanks lovely! <3 <3
ReplyDeleteSO many people have said good things about this book that I finally added it to my TBR just now. Although, honestly, I thought it was already on there since I LOVE mystery/thriller books :D They give reading a nice edge to it, especially if I have been reading a lot of the same books for a while. I also really love the guessing side to it, and I like the sound of the killer not being super guessable in this one!
ReplyDeleteSwoon worthy love interests, and characters who feel real are super bonus points in any book, really. Although I hope there wasn't TOO much romance because that always feels unbelievable in mystery/thrillers, I think!
Lovely review, Anisha :D And I hope you like the sequel!
AHA thank you Chiara you are the sweetest! And OMG I hope I do too I NEED IT SO BADLY! :O
DeleteI have not read this yet but I am glad you enjoyed it! It's been on hype on Twitter now that its sequel is coming and I am beyond intrigue! So I am probably reading it next.
ReplyDeleteYAY I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT YANI!
DeleteNice review! I am also not generally one who loves thriller novels either, but I looooved Stalking Jack the Ripper. I am so excited for Hunting Prince Dracula to come out! I need it in my life! Audrey Rose and Thomas are two of my favorite characters! I loved the gruesome bits of this book. So glad you loved this one!
ReplyDeleteOMG YESYESYESYESYES! YAY GLAD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!
DeleteI'm not much of a thriller reader myself, but this sounds so good and has had so many rave reviews that I really want to read it. So happy to hear you loved it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lindsey!
DeleteLeave me a comment below! And feel free to leave your website URL so I can come visit!